Live music review: Wild Hearts Tour featured Julien Baker, Sharon Van Etten and Angel Olson
The bill was stacked Monday night at Moody Amphitheater. Three incredibly influential artists in today’s music scene on one stage for one night for the Wild Hearts Tour. Julien Baker, Sharon Van Etten, and Angel Olson. What to expect from this diverse, talented group of performers had to be the question on everyone’s mind as this group of female talents have proven time and time again that their ability to spin a myriad of influences and styles across the music spectrum into finely crafted, engaging, and emotionally responsive works.
Baker’s minimal physical presence is only accented by her moody introspective lyrical content that lies in wait for bits of raw, honest grit. Evident early with the opening track and well known earlier work, “Sprained Ankle” then moving into newer material, the track “Bloodshot”. Baker wears her heart and soul on her sleeve and makes no apologies for letting her guitar communicate the power of the message at times.
Sharon Van Etten’s arrival indicated a fitting progression in the evening’s events on the Wild Hearts Tour. Arriving on stage her presence, a stark contrast to Baker’s, an angel of darkness from some dystopian future. Van Etten’s constant evolution and expansive range of sound and material is nothing short of mesmerizing to experience as she progresses musically. Opening track “Headspace” from her most recent album We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong laid the groundwork for a set that showcased her diverse talent. An upbeat, uptempo version of “Every Time The Sun Comes Up” blended with gentle emotional tugs like “Come Back” proved her ability to take chances with an audience that encourages and rewards her fearlessness.
Angel Olson is an undeniably talented force of nature musically. Her presence initiates an instant attraction, a desire to want to know her. Her stage banter mirrors the most comfortable conversation with a person that you have just met, while she executes witty sarcasm disguised as playful innocence or vice versa. And as she moves through each song, slowly building and developing epic structures wrapped around fertile emotions, you come to understand her power to weave musical masterpieces. Olson weaves vintage country from the golden age with modern sounds of psych-pop, and ambient vibes into songs honoring the past while establishing new standards in progressive songwriting.
Leaning heavy early in her set with several tracks from her most recent album, Big Time and executing her range of talent, pining for more familiar classics was absent, while a few eventually surfaced midway through the set. In comparison to Van Etten, Olson’s evolution as an artist comes across more subtle, yet just as effective and powerful. Her obvious classic country influences serve her voice and her music well, while she never strays too far from her penchant for the “new and shiny”. Tracks “Sister” and “All Mirrors” in retrospect have foreshadowed this aspect and is simply more evident on this occasion.
The deep respect, friendship, and love between these artists was punctuated by the expected last two songs of the evening as Van Etten joined Olsen for their recent duet, “Like I Used To” and set closer “Without You”, the 1971 Harry Nilsson classic.
If you’re on the fence about seeing this show, get off. If you’ve been curious, indulge.
The Wild Hearts Tour continues through the end of August.
All photos by Michael Maly.
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